The seeds of change can promote health, wealth, and strong, happy families!
I opened the local newspaper today, The Tecumseh Chieftain, and was delighted to find a letter from the president of the board of the Johnson County Farm Bureau. Jim Erickson is a Johnson County farmer and he wrote to the editor regarding “Food Check-Out Week.”
Mr. Erickson writes that the Farm Bureau will observe February 21-27 in recognizing the quality and abundance of U.S. Food. Even though food prices have moderated some, many families continue to face problems eating well on limited budgets. Jim outlined ideas from checking online with the Extension service to planning menus and listing suggestions for managing food budgets wisely.
I wanted to turn cartwheels on the dining room table when I read his letter! KIDS! This guy is on OUR SIDE! HE GETS IT! He understands we are all out here, doing the best we can with what we have!
I’ll bet he is totally down with Farmers Markets coupons, too; what’ll ya bet?
See? This is what COMMUNITY is all about! People working together to help other people! Ya gotta love it!
So if you are using SNAP or WIC; if you depend on food pantry food or food commodities, you will be comforted that someone understands your perspective on getting food on the family table! Maybe YOU will want to turn cartwheels, too?
Oh. We need to remember Angel Food Ministries; they have been specializing in helping people better manage their food budgets for some time now.
OK, Club Members: High Fives and Three Cheers for Jim Erickson and the Farm Bureau!
Please send your comments to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com… and please don’t be shy about leaving remarks at the end of this post. grin
Did you hear us shouting? And laughing? And COOKING?
Oh, for those of you who could not join us, we missed you. Truly we did!
If you have graciously given us your names and email addresses we will be soon sending out some of the highlights of our class, which was held here in the “clubhouse” on Saturday morning.
We shared ideas; there was a surprise or two; the food nourished our bodies and the companionship nurtured our souls!
The table was extended to reach from one end of the dining room all the way to the living room. We gathered there and “toured’ the kitchen to peruse the layout of the canned goods, the freezer and fridge and all the supplies for cooking and baking. Nobody said a word about any dust or crumbs or windows that needed to be tended! grin
Because more of you were NOT here than were, we are seriously considering how to include all of you somehow. For one thing, we will host a “Cheap Desserts” night and we have had requests to have a class about WATER. Yes, that’s right. WATER. We may be able to utilize video and give ALL of you a peek into the clubhouse and the fun we have here.
As you know, we began this Cooking Club to focus on those who may need help with their food budgets. We thought of those who use SNAP and WIC and food commodities. We had in mind those who must shop in food pantries and get things from Angel Food Ministries and the bounty of neighbors’ gardens and the Farmers Markets. But to be honest, we ALL want and need to save money on our food expenses. Our food budgets demand that in these troubled economic times.
We want to be INCLUSIVE. We want everyone who might be interested to take part in the fun and learning and sharing of this journey. Not to mention the food!
With respect to our class, we certainly offer heartfelt thanks to our supporters: To The Anonymous Benefactor who graciously and generously funded the food, we are eternally grateful for your kind and thoughtful generosity. To Jason at the Tecumseh Central Market, we so deeply appreciate all the time and attention you gave us in our preparation and we thank you for the items we had for display and comparison. We are extremely fortunate to have a clean, cheery place to shop in our little town, and one that offers great selection of food and meats.
We must acknowledge the Tecumseh Chieftain for so faithfully placing our news item where the public could be informed of our event. Small town newspapers are so important to the life of a community! The Chieftain went beyond the call and sent a reporter to cover the story. We were so happy and grateful to have Ann Wickett on board for our excursion!
Mildred Panec is to be commended for driving a long distance to share with us her expertise on food preservation! Thank you, Mildred. We are sending 10,000 thank you hugs your way!
The last round of applause goes to our students, who moved heaven and earth to share the morning and lunch hour with us.
If you have not, you are cordially invited to put your name and email into the box at the right upper corner of this page. You may also enter your information on Food Stamps Cooking Club in order to receive the tips from the class and other infrequent messages we send along from time to time.
For those who may like to see the other pies Mother Connie has her fingers in: The Healthy and Wealthy You is a blog about health and wealth-isn’t THAT a big surprise?-as is Mother Connie Sez. She writes a blog about business and internet marketing at Rapid Cash Review.
Your comments are welcomed on each of the blogs, including this one. THEY ARE VALUED AND APPRECIATED, JUST AS EACH OF YOU IS VALUED AND APPRECIATED.
People who have to be careful with their food dollars find it difficult to find movie money. I am so fortunate that I was able to squeeze enough for a matinee last week. Food Stamps Cooking Club is not a movie review site of course, but I can’t wait to share with you about it!
As you might expect, it was the “Julie & Julia” movie you have heard so much about. I was not disappointed. Meryl Streep incarnated Julia Child and I plumb forgot that it was a role she played. It seemed certain that the imposing figure of Julia-and her distinctive voice-were in that dark theater with us!
There were foodies of every age, shape and stripe in that movie house. Because it was a matinee, most had white hair, but an impressive number of fellows were there. I wasn’t sure if the guys came because they were goaded into it, or if they had to drive their women to the mall anyway, or if they just liked to cook. I was fairly certain they like to eat.
I related with Julie, the blogger. Oddly, I also related with Julia, the food expert I watched on a little black and white television set in my very early youth. And I could relate with the way both women’s husbands appreciated the food that came out of both kitchens! As the story line progressed I recalled seeing Julia prepare food on her 90th birthday on some morning news show. It was more emotional for me than I had expected it to be.
Food and eating is an emotional event, really. Even if our grandmothers were “on the dole” and got their food supply from wherever they could scare it up, they made sure we ate until we were full. They put that food on dishes that we still remember and make every effort to buy copies of at flea markets and yard sales.
We have pictures in our heads of the piles of chicken or the butter that drizzled down our arms to our elbows when corn on the cob was featured. As adults, we want our food to look and taste the way our own mothers’ food did!
Even now, whether we use Farmers Markets coupons or food commodities; food pantries or SNAP funds, our generation and even young families can make the effort to set a table where the family can sit together, share their day’s activities and plan for family fun. This simple ritual will lay a strong foundation for generations of happy families to come!
Our Food Stamps Cooking Club experiences with food may not be fodder for the movies, but as individuals, we can create whatever life we wish! That is especially true if we are healthy and resourceful!
Tell us your wonderful food memories, won’t you? Put them in the comment box on this very page, if you like. Remember, if you are shy you may remain anonymous. Or send a message to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com .
We thank those of you who have told your friends and associates about us; we are grateful that you have taken the time to post your comments and send messages to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com!
If you could see our local newspaper, The Tecumseh Chieftain, you would see a nice item in today’s issue telling about the upcoming Cooking Class. The deadline is looming to register for this class. There is no cost to register or to attend but people MUST sign up by letting us know at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com! We are EXCITED!
Write Where You Are
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The 99 Cent Chef
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